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3/28/2012 5:51PM

Health Law: What's Left if Mandate Dies?

Justices in the Supreme Court's conservative majority said Wednesday that it would be difficult to figure out which parts of the Obama health-care law should survive if one part of it is judged unconstitutional. Jess Bravin has details on The News Hub. Photo: Reuters.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the the ... the earrings that I just ... what was the topic of conversation ... well there are two topics ... in the morning the court to address the possibility ... that the yet ... the individual mandate to carry health insurance is struck down ... how much if any of the rest of the walk to fall as well ... in the afternoon ... the court heard arguments over whether the Medicaid expansion ... by his itself constitutional or whether as twenty six states led by Republican governors ... and ... unconstitutional eco worse is the states ... to support a program that they don't want ... I just seem like the I told ... but reports on the ... exchanges the report what is ... a little more bombastic a little bit more caustic ... we saw previously of is its cuts are part of the course for for this court but ... Zynga said demand was living today this thing ... this might not survive ... well that's true this was of course the third day and it's as if the ... suspense and drama builds with each day I mean the Supreme Court ... it is ... not a place for you see a flamboyant rhetoric like he might in Congress across the street ... but by this day ... the weight of these discussions and the realization that up at least half the court and perhaps most of the court ... has breeds skepticism about many things have been taken for granted for decades about the relationship between ... the federal government and the states ... this was a port that seems certainly open to reconsider and some of the doctrines that have held sway ... almost since the new deal ... by the and the interest in these topics than in the quarter it was given five half hours of argument ... that later extended to six hours of the government's request ... the court went an extra half hour today ... just because the justices had so much to ask ... any of the kids had so much the same response in what seemed to minimize can see content contained its contentious issues ... well ... they know the health care law is two thousand pages long includes not only the thing that we mainly talked about their apartment the most people carry health insurance ... but many many other provisions most of which are unrelated but have something to do ... with health whether they are of the flak one disease ... treatment program or ... health subsidies for American Indian reservations or requirement that restaurants include calorie counts on menus in question is ... how any of those that ... also stood ... up ... TV for also fall definitive don't mandate falls and the the the inflammation from at least the questions the justices were asking seem to be ... that they don't wanna get into that by the end of the ... of the situation of reviewing each provision ... and seeing which is related enough limited to win it and which one is not ... and might just route enticed saying what Congress start from scratch ... now the government had a different view ... they do agree that ... the individual mandate goes to related provisions ... one requiring insurers to ... cover anyone who shows up in one barring of rejections for preexisting conditions ... that ... that those would have to go also because they would not be financially viable without a ... universal or near universal participation in the rest for what ... they say the rest of the law ... including the creation of state based health exchanges ... some of the subsidies for the weekend for differences over ... the rest of it should stand because it is not subject to constitutional challenge ... that the most respectful thing to do with the left the span of time or something like that they can always amended ... the court did not see persuaded of that argument I think it's too ... close to send to say that Ford was ... taken with the opposite view however that the entire law should go ... if it does I believe we can call this across ... to stay with us to the deaths of one diplomat ... chief Justice robots today up from from the hearings the joining ... of ... the reality of the passage I mean this was a piece of legislation which there was handed the concerted effort to gather enough votes ... so that it could be passed and I suspect with a lot of these miscellaneous provisions that justice wire was talking about ... that was the price of a vote ... in the Indian healthcare ... provision and I will vote ... for the other twenty seven hundred pages ... in the walk long tradition in our go along with it ... it that's why all the many of these provisions I think are putting off because there were an objectionable ... so presumably what Congress would've gone is they would have been able to put together cobble together the folks to get it from ... I was the chief justice for all but such ... talking about me personally the Weta sausage was my ... dad just revenue but it took another was Fossett has made is that where the ... relevance of this can explain how it is now ... well you know in in many ion any bills ... there is a section that ... says ... Congress' preference that can ... sum up of measures struck down then the rest of it will ... remain intact ... this bill does not have a provision that says one where the otherwise Congress would prefer the Ford deal if it found one provision or another unconstitutional ... so ... then it was in that situation the courthouse to ... look to certain objective factors to decide how to approach the piece of legislation usually ... they don't do things like trying to psycho analyze the legislative process is you're the chief justice can be used to look to structural elements of the bill ... and they try to ... look at what can stand by itself and what cannot ... so on but I think today we saw a lot more ... of that of a kind of ... analysis of what the legislative branches due process prevented it certainly didn't seem like they have the members report a lot of regard for ... thank thank you Brian much just within them out there from a ... justice or truth inflation upsets the left with the ... court she said ... addressing Paul Clement the Johns's lawyer ... to come in ... so many things you can use ... and ... then ... I'm constantly OK and the leak and he did ... today we're on the right thing when the Indian Health care improvement ... changes to pay back for a long benefit to ... twenty countries we do those families that question ... when do we say that he didn't know great now I've got contracts ... or to stay ... with them and thinking when they have nothing to do ... with it ... they're affordable health care ... and this summer ... head and making the right time to decide where they work and interact ... so why didn't we say ... the choice the train ... wreck in operation which is what you are requesting ... on ... a salvage John ... and a more conservative ... approach would be ... held in Canada and throwing out everything ... reflect better by saying salvation of his rocking Dennis you itching to dump them while was one voice we're not hearing here is the justice Kennedy ... just tell us of whether justice Kennedy spoke up ... and how you perceive his comments because these eyes and so many of these cases ... is an important vote ... well just ten am until it's also one of the morning session and not what the what the orders call severability of sections of this law and ... justice can be by his questions ... seem to find it less problematic ... than just strike down the entire law assuming that any part of it has to go ... but then to try to parts of the document for what can stand and what might not that was definitely the the the meanings of these questions ... upbeat but cautioned that we have safer for those who watch report frequently is that ... of all some justices Telegraph ... they're ... they're open positions quite clearly through these arguments sessions Justice Leah perhaps more than anyone ... justice Kennedy's questions ... tend to seem to reflect ... what he's actually puzzling over and pondering and sometimes he may reach different conclusions so we I don't think we can call his vote the way we might some other members in court ... by ... his questions all seem to be named ... at that that that govern all seem to be sympathetic with the view ... that the cleanest thing that the court that you shouldn't strike down the insurance mandate ... this together the entire vessel and lack ... of Congress shouldn't choose to re examine help but care ... start again